PITTSBURGH (New York Times) — Armed with an AR-15 assault rifle and at least three handguns, a man shouting anti-Semitic slurs opened fire in a Pittsburgh synagogue Saturday morning, killing at least 11 people and wounding six others, officials said. President Trump described the shooting as a “wicked act of mass murder” that was “pure evil.”
The suspect, identified by law enforcement officials as Robert D. Bowers, 46, surrendered to the police after barricading himself inside a third-floor office of the synagogue, the Tree of Life Congregation in eastern Pittsburgh. Four police officers were among the wounded, the authorities said.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions said that the Justice Department will file hate crimes and other criminal charges, “including charges that could lead to the death penalty.”
“It’s a very horrific crime scene,” said Wendell D. Hissrich, Pittsburgh’s public safety director. “It’s one of the worst that I’ve seen, and I’ve been on some plane crashes. It’s very bad.”
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